Penalty Timer
Quick Start guide (Timing Blocker penalties) (Or “Someone just handed me a stopwatch and said to talk to the head penalty box guy!”) • You will be handed a couple stopwatches. Learn how to start, stop, and reset them before the bout begins. (There is a way to do it with one stopwatch. See the Extra Credit section for details.) • The box supervisor will likely be the one handling timing the jammers if they enter the box. That leaves you with one team's blockers. (Box supervisor will assist as needed.) • A penalty is one minute long, and starts when the girl is sitting down. Not hovering over a chair, not knocking the chairs into the stands with a slide. Butt on seat. She must also be sitting in the correct spot... her team's jammer spot if she's a jammer, one of her team's blocker spots if she's a blocker or pivot. • 20 seconds before the end of her penalty, say “(Color) (Number) Stand.” (Ex: Blue 43, Stand) Time it so “Stand” is said at the 20 second mark. She must stand. Make sure she doesn't leave early. If she does, call her back or notify a ref to do so... she's committed a new penalty AND needs to serve the new penalty. If you successfully retrieve her, notify a ref immediately to officially call the penalty. • When her time is up, say “(Color) (Number) Done.” (Ex: Blue 43, Done.) Time it so “Done” is said at 0 seconds. She can wait to exit the box until the pack is past her, or she can skate out of the box and wait. Do Not Say “GO!” or demand that she leave. • If you already have two blockers sitting down and a third comes towards you, wave her off, back into play. Make a note who you waved on! Once one of the blockers stands up, you can signal her to come back. If she doesn't, signal a referee. No matter what, let the head ref know what is going on... timing gets complicated once you have more than 2 blockers in the box. (You can NEVER have 4 blockers... one must always remain on the track.) The timers pause: *At the 4th whistle of the end of a jam *During time-outs *The timers restart at the first whistle of the next jam. At the end of a period. If there are skaters in the box, note the color, number and time served for each and give the info to the head ref. They will have to return and finish the penalty. Be aware of your surroundings. Skaters come into the box at great speed and not always with the greatest control. You may want to put a hand on the back of the chair/bench they’re coming towards, to keep it from going flying or ramming back into you. In-depth penalty box guide (Set up and timing jammers) (Or, “Me? Yikes!”) Ideally, you're someone who has worked in the penalty box a few times as an assistant attendant. If you're not, study the quickstart to this manual first. Also, study Section 2.7 and 7 of the WFTDA rule set. You'll need it. EQUIPMENT LIST: 6 stopwatches, minimum (preferably more in case of failure or 3rd blocker situations*) 2 benches, or 6 chairs, or other provisions for seating for 6 skaters, A way to mark the seats so that it is obvious which seats are for which team (signs, tape, other coloration) • 3 people (including you) run the penalty box assistants • Tape to lay down a point of no return line, easily visible to the skaters * two sitting, one standing/two standing, one sitting (see QUICKSTART for more info) There is a way to do it with 3 stopwatches. See “Extra Credit.” THE PENALTY BOX ITSELF (Section 2.7 in the WFTDA rule set) To set up a penalty box for a bout, it must: • Have seating for 1 jammer and 2 blockers for each team, 6 total • Mark the seats clearly, denoting a jammer seat and two blocker seats for each team (a J or a star on one of the seats will suffice) Be situated in an easily accessible, neutral area close to the track Somewhere near the far end of the penalty box, there will be a 'point of no return'. If a skater passes this when trying to enter the penalty box, they must continue past and complete another lap so that they enter from the correct side. Grief judges it by whether her hips pass the line. Some leagues are more strict, sending even a wheel touching past back around for another pass. Skaters must skate to the penalty box in normal derby direction (counter-clockwise) If a skater comes crashing into the box and scatters chairs or otherwise disrupts the penalty box setup, she may be told to put the chairs back in order before sitting and serving her penalty. Notify coaches, captains, and bench managers of this before the game begins. (This is a RCRD house rule. Not all leagues do this, and it is not an official WFTDA policy. We just use it as a deterrent and reminder to approach the box safely in a controlled manner.) Ensure that spectators won't wander in or sit down in the penalty box, or try to strike up a conversation or get an autograph. People should not be interacting with skaters in the box. Use caution tape, security guards, or some other way to denote that this is a game area, not extra seating or a chance to chat up the penalty box crew or skaters. Make sure that the box is safe to enter... no fans sitting too close to the near side of the box. If the penalty box is located between the team benches, swap sides on the seats. (Blue bench, black side, blue side, black bench.) This makes it harder for the penalized players’ teammates and coaches to communicate with them, deterring possible penalties and temptation for entering the box illegally. Make sure that the coaches are aware that they are not permitted to come over and coach the girls in the penalty box...they're there to serve a penalty, not to consult on strategy. If they do enter the box, notify a referee. It’s a minor penalty to the captain. If they remove any of their safety equipment except their mouthguards, it’s a minor penalty. Notify an outside pack ref. It IS permissible for a teammate to come over and hand a skater a water bottle, or a skate tool if there has been an equipment malfunction in addition to the penalty. (If the equipment failure cannot be completed within the penalty minute, the skater must move to her team's bench to complete the repair.) No THROWING bottles or equipment, though! TIMING JAMMERS (Section 7.4 in the WFTDA rule set) Timing gets most complex when you are timing jammers. It is vital that you have read and understand Section 7.4 before the game. In order to prevent jammerless jams, the rules go as follows: • Jammer #1 goes to the box. Timer begins as normal. • Jammer #2 gets called out, comes to the box. • Immediately: • Jammer #1's timer is halted and she is sent back to the track. Do not clear the timer. • Jammer #2's timer begins. • Jammer #2 only serves the exact amount of time that Jammer #1 served. Allow her to stand 10 seconds before releasing her (at 35 seconds if a 45 second penalty, for example) • If the jammers both come in simultaneously, they serve 10 seconds and are sent back out simultaneously. This can happen during gameplay, or if both are sent to the box after a jam has ended. • If Jammer 1 is in the box, then released when Jammer 2 joins her in the box, then pulls another Major/Penalty Minute while #2's still in the box, Jammer 2 stays and Jammer 1 serves the entire 60 seconds. WATCHING THE LINEUP For the most part, referees will check to make sure that there is an appropriate number of skaters on the track, accounting for skaters in the box. If you notice something they do not, notify one of the outside referees immediately. They will wait until after the whistle is blown, then send the excess skaters back to the bench. Do not tell the skaters. That is considered coaching, and thus not permissible. DEALING WITH FOUL-OUTS/EXPULSIONS (Section 7.5 in the WFTDA rule set) When a skater fouls out by either having too many penalties or by committing certain penalties, she is sent to the locker room. In her place, a substitute (often the captain) will serve her penalty minute, and the rest of the team skates short exactly as if the ejected skater was the one in the box (if she was a pivot, the sub is a pivot; if a jammer, a jammer.) Substitutions only happen between jams, since they'll already be short one once the skater is sent out. A referee should let you know when to start timing the penalty. Any time carried into the next jam is served by the sub. GETTING THE REFEREES' ATTENTION This is one of the more challenging parts of the job. If a skater takes off early, or there is confusion about your waving off a skater, or there is a medical problem, or any time you need the attention of a referee, try to get the attention of the nearest outside referee. They will be able to help you either deal with the skater in question or get the head referee's attention to deal with the problem. If they don't see you, carefully step forward to catch their attention. Keep in mind that their eyes are largely trained on the pack, not necessarily in front of them. Do not force a collision! Be loud. Some leagues use a whiteboard to communicate the color and number of the skater(s) you need to have retrieved. They circle the number if it is a skater who left early and needs to serve the remainder plus the one-minute Illegal Procedure penalty, and leave it plain if it’s a skater you had to wave off from a full penalty box and need retrieved. EXTRA CREDIT! (The 3 stopwatch and penalty box sheet method) In StatsBook, there is a form for the penalty box. It looks like this. Both of the penalty box attendants get a copy of the form and a stopwatch each. They will be timing the blockers for the two teams. The penalty box supervisor gets a stopwatch (or two.) He/she will be timing the jammers for both teams. The attendants will be writing down the jammer information on their team’s sheet. IF YOU ARE USING STOPWATCHES THAT COUNT DOWN INSTEAD OF UP, this system doesn’t work. Go back to 6 stopwatches. You can still use the form, but it will require some juggling of clipboards and watches, and a change in the way you enter the In/Stand/Done (60 seconds, 10 seconds, 0 seconds instead of 0 seconds, 50 seconds, 60 seconds, etc.) FOR THE PENALTY BOX ATTENDANTS: Down the right-hand side of the sheet, you see 2 jam number columns. Use the first column to track what jam you’re on for the first period. Use the second column to track what jam you’re on for the second period. Tick them off at the end of each jam. This is for your reference. When a blocker/pivot enters the box: Start her time as soon as she is seated. Write down the period, jam number, team, and skater number in the appropriate boxes. Example: Blue blocker 567 enters the box in jam 5 of the first period. Write down what time the skater arrived. If the stopwatch was cleared at this point, it’s zero. She will stand at 50 seconds and be done at 60 seconds. If the jam stops or a timeout is called while she is still serving the penalty, note the time on the stopwatch. Example: The jam ends and the stopwatch reads 32 seconds. Note it in the first stopwatch box. If she straddles another jam/timeout, repeat. Example: She has 5 seconds left. She should be standing, but still in the box. If she exits and no other skaters have entered, you can now clear the stopwatch. However, if a skater does enter while you are still timing the first blocker, you write down the time she entered in the “In” box. Example: The blue pivot, 55, enters the box 22 seconds after 567. You note 22 as the time she entered, then calculate from there. At 72 seconds (50 seconds into her penalty) she will stand. At 82 seconds (60 seconds) she will be done. If they are both still in the box at the end of a jam/start of a timeout, note the stopwatch time in both of their boxes. Follow the same process as before if the jam ends again and one or both are still there. If one leaves and the other remains at the end of the jam/start of a timeout, just note the end stopwatch time on the remaining girl. Example: 567 left the box at 60 seconds. The jam ended when the watch read 65. 55 is still waiting to leave. Repeat the process as often as you need to. If you have a steady stream of skaters coming in the box, you can wind up with several minutes without clearing the watch. As soon as your side of the box is empty, you can clear your stopwatch and start from zero again. MULTIPLE MINUTES If you have a skater with multiple minutes to serve, simply add it into the equation. A skater with a 2- minute penalty will now be standing at 1:50/110 seconds and done at 2:00/120 seconds (or whatever addition needs to be made for when she entered the box. In the above examples, 55 would be standing at 2:12/132 seconds and done at 2:22/142 seconds.) HALFTIME At halftime, you need to indicate who is still in the box with time to serve. A star or arrow next to the skater’s (or skaters’) name works. Proceed as normal once the second period starts, continuing to time the skaters in the box as though you were picking up from the end of a jam or timeout. Remember to start your next incoming skater at Period 2, and start using the second column of jam numbers, starting at 1. JAMMERS You will also be recording times for the box supervisor when he/she times your jammer. Write down the information as you would for a blocker or pivot, but use the time on the box supervisor’s watch for the time. Example: Jam 5 has gotten a little crazy. Jammer Blue B52 enters the box. The box supervisor will time her penalty, so use the time on his/her watch. He should tell you what the start time is. Since jammers can be released early if the other jammer enters the box, wait to write down stand/done times. Example: The Black team’s jammer enters the box when the Blue jammer has only served 37 seconds. B52 is immediately released from the box, so she is “Done” at 37 seconds. The Black jammer will now serve 37 seconds. (If you were recording the Black jammer at this point, the boxes would be “In 37,” “Stand 64,” and “Done 74.”) BOX SUPERVISORS You will be timing the jammers. If you’re only using one watch, you’ll be following the procedure above and feeding the information to the appropriate team’s box attendant. Otherwise, the job is the same as it would be otherwise. Follow the jammer-timing rules as per usual, wave off and retrieve skaters who need to serve penalties on a full box, etc. Some box supervisors prefer to use 2 stopwatches, or the Penalty Timer app for the iPhone, to simplify any math issues. Whatever you wind up using, be sure to feed the timing information to your box attendants. If you’re using 2 watches, both of their times start at zero and go til whenever. If you’re using the app, which counts down, tell them the appropriate time. Example: The app counts down from 1 minute. If B52 enters while you’re timing 55, it immediately clears 55’s remaining time (45 seconds) and starts counting down from the appropriate time (15 seconds) for B52. Category:NSOing